>> Stuart totally oversold me. I'm afraid no one could ever live up to the
>> advertising. I would have prefered he'd undersold me a bit so that I
could
>> surprise them, rather than disappointing them when they find out I can't
>do the miracles Stuart has claimed I can do
>
>Don't underestimate yourself.
>
I don't, Kathy. That's a different subject. You've met me, you know I have a
pretty clear idea of who I am. I can't do miracles, no one can. That's a
fact of life

>Kent did the same for me and Earl when our orignal group was split up and
>Earl and I went to Michael and Jay.

He said you could do things you couldn't do, claimed you were an expert in
things you'd never done and that you knew things you'd never been taught?

> We were both really worried we wouldn't
>live up to our billing -- especially when we heard from Lance (the
>Director -- Jay's boss) that he'd heard great things about us too.

If it was just that they'd heard great things I wouldn't be as concerned

> The one
>thing I've *always* done no matter where I worked (and that I hauled Earl
on
>board with) was to admit immediately if I did something wrong or was unable
>to do something, or wasn't entirely familiar with something.

This is how I found out. I said I couldn't do something that they had been
assured I was expert at. I said I wasn't familiar with something they'd been
told I did every day.

>I also made sure I could find the answers somewhere, somehow.

My ability to do that is one of my strengths, and one of the things Stuart
told them that isn't exagerrated
.
> The only stupid question is one you don't ask! I'm a firm believer in
that!

I've always taught my kids and the people who've worked for me that. It's a
little disconcerting to find out that questions make you and your previous
employer look like liars

>So Earl and I went about
>our job as we knew how, did the best with the tools available, kept people
>informed if it would take us time to figure it out or whatever, and in the
>course of doing all that we found out they appreciated us *more* because
>they could trust us with what we knew *and* what we didn't know! You would
>be astonished how rare that is...

You'd be astonished how well I know that

>anyway, we also found out we knew more
>than we thought we did, and if we didn't know it, we knew someone who did
or
>someone who could at least put us on the trail to someone who did.
>
Which is all very well if you don't have to bring their expectation of you
down several notches to do that. As I said, I would have prefered that he'd
undersold me a little so that I could have surprised them instead of
over-selling me to the point that my knowledge and expertise is quite a bit
less than they were led to expect

>You don't have to know everything, do everything, or work miracles -- just
>be absolutely honest about what you can and can't do, keep everyone
>informed, and if necessary work your ass off to find out what you need to
do
>to get the task done 

I don't really appreciate this, you know. I'm irritated. I told the truth
and you're talking as if I have no idea what I'm talking about. I get the
impression you think I have no clue about myself or how to act at work

> There are people nothing will ever work for, people who
>won't appreciate the efforts you go to...

I know that all too well. I've worked for a lot of *** in my time, and very
much appreciate it when I work with or for good people

>but when you find a good set of
>people (and it sounds like you've almost always been lucky in that!)

I have been on a winning streak since the robbery - before that it was very
rare

>then they
>*will* appreciate it, and will cut you slack where you need it, because you
>do your absolute best.
>
When my absolute best is far short of what they were told to expect, it
scares me. Hence my complaint. I do always do my absolute best, and, of
course, am doing so now. I'm not a complete dolt. I can tell when I have a
valid reason for concern, you know.

>anyway, lecture over 
>
thanks

>what exactly are you doing in the new job anyway? :)
>
BC Online has BC official documents and records on line. They're expanding
from being an information source to being a provider. At present I'm putting
converyance packages together by explaining the documents to the programmer
and coder so that they know what's important and why, what people need to
obtain to be able to use the documents, and which documents cross reference
with which others. I will be producing the FAQ, writing the instructions,
answering the help line, and teaching others how to answer the user
questions when it gets up and running. When this one (converyancing) has
been handed over, then we'll be doing incorporations. That's scary. I don't
know incorporations, and when I took Stuart to task for saying I did, he
shrugged and said I'd pick it up quickly. I will try to get a real corporate
secretary to deal with that when we get to it. I know enough about
converyancing to get by, even though Stuart claimed I'm an expert when I'm
not. But I don't know enough about incorporations to get by, so I'll deal
with that differently. I also know very little about computers, which has
thrown them a bit and meant that they've had to revamp some of their plans.
So far I'm valuable enough that it hasn't meant they've changed their minds
about me, but I do wish he'd not done it quite like this
>
LJ



--- Rachel's Little NET2FIDO Gate v 0.9.9.8 Alpha